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Cartoon illustration of tying up shoelaces

The limitations and merits of the World War II / climate change analogy

I used the World War II as an analogy for responding to climate change in my comic Hitler Denial. In this essay, I discuss the merits and limitations of this comparison.

Cartoon artwork of Adolf Hitler motorcade with swastika flags

The making of Hitler Denial: bypassing Climate Change 101

I describe the storytelling philosophy I employed in my comic Hitler Denial. The comic is about climate change, but I deliberately avoided getting bogged-down in 'Climate Change 101' debates.

Diagram of physics of self-airconditioning zero energy geodesic dome

Buckminster Fuller’s Chilling Domes: the physics

I discuss the physics behind my comic about Buckminster Fuller's Chilling Domes. Is the phenomenon real? I outline the evidence for and against.

Hand-drawn graph of Peak Oil graph on gridpaper with pen and protractor triangle

The making of Peak Oil #7: what I am most proud of

Peak Oil is the longest comic that I have published. It is 120 pages long, and took me over 12 months to create. I use this blog post to reflect upon the aspects of Peak Oil that I am most proud of.

View over the shoulder of a man working late into the night, illuminated by a desk lamp.

The making of Peak Oil #6: deliberate artistic decisions

I discuss the artistic decisions that I make when drawing my Peak Oil comic. I describe my philosophy about panel arrangement, page layout, and background art details. I also explain how I used the roller coaster as a way to stealthily educate readers using a 'graph that is not a graph'.

Blue sketchy linework. Draft cartoon artwork.

The making of Peak Oil #5: evolution of the artwork

Following on from my last blog post, I use Peak Oil as a test-case. I include 'before' and 'after' slideshows which demonstrate how the Peak Oil artwork evolved from drafts to final artwork.

Comparison of reference photograph and cartoon illustration based on that reference image

The making of Peak Oil #4: my step-by-step process

I describe every stage of my comics creation process. This includes everything from research, to writing, to storyboarding, to drawing the final artwork.

Cartoon man standing on oil fields

The making of Peak Oil #3: snags and delays

Peak Oil was released nearly two years after my previous major comic, Rat Park. What caused this delay? I describe the various struggles I had creating my Peak Oil comic.

Askew drawing of man being ambushed by a media scrum - cartoon illustration

The making of Peak Oil #2: storytelling philosophy

I explain my storytelling philosophy as a science communication cartoonist. I discuss how I avoid writing 'propaganda' political comics, with pre-chewed messages for my readers.